Because I Heard We Were Friends
by JadeBrycin2116
Summary: New 52...After that moment on the island Bart thought they were more, hoped they were more, but apparently Kiran has different feelings. If only he hadn't overheard her, but he did. Now what's he supposed to do?


**Because I Heard We Were Friends**

Hi there!

so i just recently got into reading comics (the new 52 teen titans specifically) and this is the result. Now i'm totally in love with bart/solstice. I noticed an extreme lack of fics about them here so i thought id write one :) this is my first TT fic btw, i usually write young justice

so this takes place after issue 11 i believe, but of course i took a few liberties with timing and all. lets just pretend all is well n wondergirl is wondergirl again and all that :) anyways, plz enjoy

i do not own teen titans

* * *

_Just _

_friends_.

After what had happened on the mysterious island that's all she had to say about them, that they were _just friends?_

What the hell was that supposed to mean? Not only was he the fastest kid in the world when it came to running, but now he was going to be the fastest kid in the world when it came to relationships too?

_Well wasn't that just great? _

Bart stared at Kiran from across the room of Red Robin's (Seriously though, what the hell was this guy's name?) pent house. He could care less what she looked like. The fact that she wasn't exactly human looking anymore didn't bother him. Hell, for all he knew, he wasn't exactly human. He didn't really know who or what he was, or where in the world he was even from; but during that moment on the island, Kiran hadn't seemed to care…and for the first time in months, neither had he.

He thought that had meant something, but maybe he was wrong. He definitely had the wrong idea about them. Here he was thinking they had something, a real connection –the first connection he'd really made with someone since he'd shown up on that old lady's doorstep– and in reality they were _just friends_. Damn it, he couldn't win. What was wrong with him?

When he heard her laughing at one of Miguel's unintentional jokes, Bart'd had enough. He wasn't going to sit here and let her rub his misery in his own face, even if she didn't know she was doing it. He'd rather be doing anything else, but settled on raiding Red Robin's kitchen. It was about time for him to eat again anyway. Silently he stood up, trudging dejectedly into the other room and searching through the cabinets for something that didn't sound God awful. Corn Flakes though, seriously? Where was the frosted kind? The sugar was the best part, but then again Rob didn't seem like the kind of guy who enjoyed indulging in anything kind of gratifying.

He continued searching until he finally stumbled upon bag of chips. Of course they were baked, _and plain_, but beggars couldn't exactly be choosers. This was probably the best he was going to get so he slide up onto the counter and pulled the bag open, grabbing the first chip.

"First my clothes, now you plan to eat all of my food too?"

Bart looked up, mouth already full of chips, to see Red Robin standing in the doorway with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. The speedster shrugged, "You should consider this a favor. Once I get rid of all this terrible junk, maybe you can buy something good, like barbeque chips or cereal I don't have to add my own sugar to."

Red Robin glared, walking over and pulling the bag from Bart's hand, "You mean _my_ sugar; and you know, I didn't ask you to rummage through _my_ kitchen and criticize everything in it. You don't have to eat it."

He considered the thought before leaning over and taking the obnoxiously loud plastic bag back, "I know, but a guy's gotta eat right? Wouldn't want me to pass out in the middle of your living room would you?"

"What would it matter? You spend most of your time here anyway."

Indifferently Bart shrugged as Red Robin went into the fridge. A few seconds later he emerged with a water bottle and began to twist the cap off, "So other than eating me out of house and home, what are you doing in here when everybody else is in there?" He pointed towards the living room Bart had just come from.

Aside from the owner of the pent house himself, and Skitter who they hadn't seen since before the Island, everyone else was sitting in the room. Technically Bart could've talked to Kon-El or Cassie or even Miguel, but those weren't the people he wanted to talk to. He wanted to talk to Kiran. He just didn't know what to say. He wasn't even sure if she knew he'd heard her when she'd said they were only friends and he didn't want to bring it up for fear of her saying something else he didn't want to hear.

"What? A guy can't take a break to eat?"

"Sure," the other boy offered, "You just didn't strike me as the loner type and I found you in here by yourself."

"You're not the only person who likes to be left alone sometimes."

"Well I just figured, you know, after seeing you and Solstice hugged up on that weird island-" Red Robin pauses for a second, assessing the unfamiliar expression on Bart's face. He's seen the look before, sure, just not from him. He looks irritated, maybe even offended. It's obvious that while he's said the wrong thing, he's also said the right thing at the exact same time, "that you two would be together. I thought you were an item."

Bart stares at his counterpart with an un-amused expression, plowing a handful of greasy chips into his mouth. His words come out muffled, but as fast as he talks sometimes, when don't they? "Well you thought wrong…I guess we both did," he adds a little bitterly.

Slightly intrigued by Bart's hostile tone, Red Robin raises an eyebrow and leans his back against the fridge. This could take a while and he'd like to be somewhat comfortable. Normally trivial teenage affairs wouldn't concern him. Relationships didn't last. They were just things that came and went like night and day. After his upbringing, he didn't hold a lot of faith in them. Bruce had never really been a long-term relationship kind of guy and sure, his own parents were married; but the way they acted sometimes, he wasn't even sure if they'd _ever_ loved each other.

He wasn't sure why he cared now, but for some reason he was curious. Part of him even wanted to help. He'd been busy reviewing and finalizing some reports he'd written up on N.O.W.H.E.R.E. but those could wait. Oddly enough, this seemed more important. Whether he wanted to believe it or not, outside of the Teen Titans, these other teens had actually become his friends.

"Trouble in paradise? What happened?"

Skeptically, Bart stares back at Red Robin. Why should he tell his personal business to a guy who wouldn't even tell them his name? So maybe Bart had revealed tons other things to him when they'd first met, and Red Robin had a creepy way of knowing almost everything about all of them anyway…this however, was deeply personal. His love life wasn't something the leader could look up and log into a file. (Not that he wouldn't if he could). Regardless, the speedster opened his mouth to reply anyway. What could he say, he liked to talk; and besides the weird nickname thing, Red Robin wasn't so bad. He was actually a pretty cool guy. He was secretive, a little uptight, and slightly distrusting at times…but cool nonetheless.

"We kissed," Bart states nonchalantly, as if the entire thing hadn't been bugging him since it happened, "But then I overheard her tell Bunker that we were just friends."

"Just friends?"

"Yeap."

The teen leader shrugs, "So? What's wrong with that?"

"Well, I'd like to be a little more than _just friends_." Bart figured it was totally obvious, but maybe his delivery was off or something. He might've been talking too fast for it that little tidbit to click to Red Robin.

"It could be worse."

"Yeah, I mean I could be pining over a girl who's expressed no real interest in me at all, like you with Cassie," smirks Bart snidely. It's meant as a harmless joke. He mostly just wants to see Red Robin's reaction, see him choke up a little.

Red Robin doesn't look too amused, "Ha. Funny, but I'm not _pining_ over her."

"Could've fooled me," he laughs light heartedly for the first time since Kiran made her remark.

"I am-look, I'm not on trial here. We're talking about you and what you're going to do about you're little problem with Solstice."

"What do you mean what I'm gonna do? Clearly she's made up her mind."

"And you're okay with that? Have you even talked to her about what happened on the Island?"

"No, this is the first time I've even brought it up to anybody."

"Really? You struck me as a kiss and tell kind of guy." He seems genuinely surprised, but he really shouldn't be. Everyone on the team had their secrets, even if some of them are small like this.

"Well I'm not…and you should really stop making assumptions about me. You're terrible at it."

"Fair enough," he says honestly. So far he's 0-2 on assuming things about Kid Flash. He's getting rusty, a little soft even. He's going to have to work on his people reading skills later though. "But you should at least talk to her. If nothing else, it might give you some closure…Then you can go back in the living room with everyone else instead of sitting in here cleaning me out."

"Oh come on, I ate one bag of chips. I didn't clean you out."

"Not _this_ time, but you were planning on it! However, because I'm a nice guy, I'll let it go if you go talk to her."

The way his mind works, Bart already has ten thousand reasons why he shouldn't talk to her before Red Robin can even blink. He just chooses to say none of them because he knows that they don't matter. His leader's right. If nothing else, he could at least use some closure. He already has enough unanswered questions in his life. He doesn't need to add 'whatever happened between him and Kiran' or 'did he ever have a chance with her' to that list.

"Fine, I'll go…but don't say I never did anything you asked me to," he states, sliding his body off the counter and passing by the trashcan to throw away a now empty chip bag.

"This might be one of the first times you ever _really_ listened to me, but fine."

"And you can't ever say anything about me eating your food ever again."

"Fine."

"And next time you go shopping, could you buy food that doesn't suck?"

"Fine! Now stop stalling! Would you just go talk to her already?" Red Robin says, officially frustrated, as Bart laughs. "And my food doesn't suck!"

* * *

Bart stood in the living room archway, his options quickly running through his head. He could be daring and romantic, run by, sweep Kiran off her feet, and have her in paradise in an instant. He could be assertive, walk over and kiss her right there in front of everybody, show her what he wanted…or he could be a pussy, walk over to the couch and just accept the fact that they were friends and nothing else.

Though the first two were more his style, the last one seemed like the best option.

It was then that Miguel happened to catch his eye, seeing the clearly pathetic look plastered on his face as he stared in her direction. He looked between Kiran, who was in the middle of speaking to him, and Bart, who was just standing there. Miguel was a lot of things, but he wasn't stupid. It was clear to him that something was wrong with Bart and he was almost sure that something was Kiran, given the history she had revealed to him a few days ago. It appeared that the speedster wanted to speak to her, but he was holding back. Assuming it was because he didn't want to intrude in their conversation, Miguel stopped Kiran mid-sentence and told her he suddenly remembered something he had to do. She was a little caught off guard, but nodded anyway.

Bart stood in the same spot, leaning in the door frame, as Miguel walked in his direction. He didn't stop, but as he walked by, he casually leaned into Bart's ear, "She's all yours amigo."

He's defiantly caught off guard by the statement, but he doesn't take the time to think about it, not that he doesn't have it. If he's ever going to say something to her, he's got to do it now or just let it go…and accept the fact that Red Robin will get to harass him about food for the rest of eternity. Just that alone is enough to get Bart moving towards her.

Before Kiran can even think about taking a step forward Bart is standing in front of her, a sheepish look on his face. "Can we-" he starts before decided that a question isn't the way to go. He can ask questions later. Right now he needs to make sure she doesn't try to avoid him, not that she would, but just in case.

"We need to talk," he says, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the hallway, "but not here."

"Um…okay?" is all she can manage before she allows Bart to drag her into what appears to be Red Robin's bedroom. He turns on the light and stands in front of her gnawing his bottom lip. He looks like he's trying to find the right words to say, but for some reason it's taking longer than usual. "So, what is it you want to talk about?"

It takes Bart no time to reply to this question. He knows exactly what they're here to talk about, it's just for once, he's having trouble finding the right words to start.

"Us."

She raises one of her eyebrows and cocks her head to the side. As far as she knows, they're fine. "Us? What about us?"

"Everything about us."

"Bart, I don't think I quite understand what you're trying to ask me."

He closes his eyes together tight and lets out a deep breath, "I heard what you said to Miguel, that we were just friends."

Kiran swallows hard, nodding so slightly that it's likely Bart didn't even catch it. "Oh," is all she can manage to say in reply. She's not sure what else to say. She didn't even know Bart had heard her.

"Yeah…and I just thought, you know, after the island-," he starts quickly before stopping to think, "I just thought that maybe we were an…_us_."

He watches her eyes go wide, and he can't tell if that's exactly a good thing. He waits patiently for a response, any type of response, but the suspense is starting to kill him. It only gets worse when she starts to bite her bottom lip nervously as she searches for the right words to say. Damn it, why does she have to be so adorable? Even if N.O.W.H.E.R.E. did turn her body into a smokey, black, outline of what she used to be, she's still gorgeous, especially when she makes faces like this.

"An _us_?" she finally repeats timidly and confused, "Like a couple?"

"Y-yeah, exactly like a couple." After a few more, excruciatingly long, silent seconds, the speedster just shrugs. What else is there to do, because it seems that clearly he's on a whole other page than she is? "But if you only want to be friends, I understand."

Accepting defeat isn't something he's generally accustomed to. Of course, this is a girl, and not a bent-on-world domination villain, but still, defeat is defeat…and it sucks. This is way worse than getting his ass kicked by any villain.

The look on her face now is the most confusing look he's probably ever been on the receiving end of. He can't tell if she's happy, or sad, or pissed, or relieved. Her face is just sort of well…blank. It's just blank and emotionless. Now he's made things awkward between them. He should've never even brought it up.

"Bart I-"

"Look I'm sorry I even said anything," he spits out quickly before she can even finish her statement, "Can we just forget about it? It was stupid-"

"Bart."

"I don't know why I thought-I mean it was just a kiss. It didn't mean anything-"

"Bart."

"-and I came onto you so I shouldn't have been surprised that you didn't feel the same way. I practically for-"

Finally Kiran realizes that at this speed, Bart isn't going to stop and listen to her unless she can really grab his attention. This time she yells his name and puts a hand on each of his shoulders to shock him out of it, "Bart!"

"_Huh?_"

He stops mid-sentence and stares at her wide eyed and caught off guard. It might be the cutest look she's ever seen. He looks so innocent and lost, but in a good way. God, why does he have to do be so damn cute?

"You were rambling," she smiles, "Like really fast." She's not sure if anyone can see her blush anymore, but she can feel herself blushing and she's not really even sure why she is.

"O-oh…sorry?"

"You don't have to apologize. It's fine. I think we're all used to it."

Now he's blushing, but at least she can see it on him. It might be even more adorable than his last look. When he catches her staring with a smirk on her face, he looks down. Isn't this just great? First he embarrasses himself by thinking they're way more than they really are, and now he's done it again by talking to fast and saying too much. This is so not like him. How does she do this? It's like he's a whole other person around her…and as of right now, he's not so sure that's a good thing.

Once again it's completely silent and Bart doesn't think he can handle another awkward five seconds of standing in front of a girl who's just rejected his feelings. He quickly surveys the room and draws his hand to the back of his neck, "I ugh…I just remembered Red Robin wa-wanted me to ugh, you know, do this thing so-"

"O-oh, I understand," she sighs dejectedly, moving out his path towards the door. She's not sure what just happened, but she doesn't like the way it's about to end. Maybe it hadn't crossed her mind before, but the idea of being Bart's girlfriend is more than appealing. Just knowing that somebody can look past who she is, what she is…what she looks like, and want to be with her, is…

Well it's the most amazing feeling in the world and she doesn't want to lose it. Not now, not ever.

She's not even sure why she said what she said to Miguel. It was stupid. She just thought that, well maybe what happened between her and Bart was a one-time thing. She figured they were in the moment. Why would a guy like him really want to be with her? He probably had girls all over him all the time. She figured that friends was what Bart wanted and at least if she said it first, said it out loud to someone, it would hurt less when he said it to her.

Anxiously, Kiran looks around the room as Bart reaches for the door handle. She can't let him leave like this. "He needs you, r-right now?"

His hand is on the door knob in a matter of milliseconds, turning the cold metal. He's trying to get out of there as quick as possible, but he stops anyway. "U-ugh, yeah…w-why?"

They stare at one another, Bart with one hand on the door and Kiran with one arm stroking the length of her arm in front of her. Nervously, she bites at her lip wanting to say something and he waits for her to speak, his eyes wide in anticipation.

"I just…" Kiran sucks in a deep breath and hopes she isn't about to make the biggest mistake of her life. Clearly words aren't getting them anywhere, so she closes her eyes and lets her body take over.

Bart doesn't know what's happening until Kiran's lips are crashing against his. It might be one of the most nervous, awkward, sloppy kisses he's ever had, but at the same time it's the most amazing. He wastes no time wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her body into his. He's not sure how long they're together, but he spends every last second kissing her desperately as if his life depends on it. As far as he's concerned at this moment it does, and he never wants this kiss to end.

When they finally pull apart, Kiran's cheeks are glowing and she giggles uneasily. She's never done anything so, so _bold_ before. Not like that.

"W-what was that?" he asks. There's a thousand things racing through his mind at this very moment and he's incredibly confused. Didn't she just want to be friends? Friends didn't do _that_.

"I'm pretty sure I just kissed you."

He knows that…at least he thinks he does. He can't be certain. If he wasn't still holding her, he wouldn't even be sure the kiss had just happened. "Maybe you should do it again?"

A smirk comes to her lips before she leans in. Kiran places a soft, quick peck on his cheek and then places her mouth right next to his ear, "Maybe I did, and you just didn't notice?"

Quickly Bart opens his mouth, not even sure what to say. This can't be happening, again. There's no way. Just a few minutes ago he was about to walk out of the room in a complete state of failure and disappointment. Now the girl he was supposed to be 'just friends' with was standing here in his arms flirting with him like they had on the island.

Completely engulfed by the moment, Kiran leans back and places her lips on Bart's for a second time. "There," she whispers, "I did it again."

He's completely amazed. This is even better than it was on that weird Island, even if she is using his own lines against him. He doesn't want to kill the moment, but he just has to ask. "So does this mean-does this mean that we're…_together?_"

Kiran stares into Bart's hopeful green eyes and nods, before pecking his lips again gently.

He's so excited he could run around the world twice, but he doesn't want to leave her for even a second. He wants to cherish every last nanosecond of the moment they're sharing, the moment he's sharing, _with his girlfriend_. So instead of running off, he pulls her even closer and leans into her ear this time.

"Kiss me again," he begs, an unseen playful, smirk finding its way to his lips, "_Slower._"

* * *

well i hope you enjoyed. plz feel free to leave a comment :D


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